


Fabula

by PoliticalPadmé (magnetgirl)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Mythology References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2019-01-01
Packaged: 2019-09-23 14:50:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17082383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnetgirl/pseuds/PoliticalPadm%C3%A9
Summary: For a school report, Rey and Ben are assigned to dissect the myth of the youngest Sky Walkers





	Fabula

**Author's Note:**

  * For [QueenOfCarrotFlowers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfCarrotFlowers/gifts).



> Happy new year! I chose to combine the mythology prompt with an academic au. Ben's part in the myth of the Sky Walkers is very loosely based on Pandora, who let loose all the evils of the world, but when the dust settled found hope remained within.

“A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the Force was unbalanced."

"Still?" Ben interrupts and at Rey's withering look, adds, "I just think maybe they should try something new. All these stories are the same."

"They're not the same," she argues, "they're a cycle. Change is incremental."

"Meaning slow."

Rey rolls her eyes. "You need to work on your patience."

"Why do we have to learn these old stories anyway?" he sighs and flops back into his chair. "It's not real."

"Reality is a point of view."

"Ugh, you sound like Professor Kenobi."

This is hardly an insult to Rey, though clearly a complaint to Ben — which proves her point but she decides to let that go and address his question

"Mythology teaches us about humanity."

"How?"

She smiles and returns to reading the text. "In the beginning Light and Dark lived in harmony and unity, purity and passion side by side, but as civilization expanded the Children of the Force grew distant and their abilities diminished. Those who retained their connection to the Force began to quarrel, jostling for supremacy. They began to pledge themselves to one side or another, fraying the connection until finally it cracked, sundering Dark from Light, Light from Dark."

Ben waves a hand, palm open, expression poised between boredom and triumph. "None of that happened."

"What did happen?"

He frowns. She waits expectantly.

". . . War?"

"Exactly!" She waves both hands, far more animated than her companion, as she elaborates. "Pain, suffering, disease, death. The ancients used the split of the Force to explain all the bad stuff in the world."

"But all that bad stuff is created _by_ people."

"People?" she counters, leaning closer, practically bouncing. "Or Sky Walkers?"

Ben leans in, too, as he argues, "Sky Walkers aren't re—"

"Are you two almost done or what?"

The two turn as one toward the interruption — Finn, flanked by Poe and Rose — and pull apart quickly, Rey rocking back on her chair, Ben slumping towards the table.

"Or what."

Poe's eyes flicker between them. "What's taking so long?"

"Ben doesn't believe in the Sky Walkers."

"It's a myth! An ancient myth!"

"Do you need help?" Rose offers. "I finished my report on the Mother last night."

"The Mother is barely in the story," Ben complains. He doesn't mind being paired with Rey. Quite likes it, actually. But there are about five hundred thousand things he'd rather be studying than old stories about minor space gods. He doesn't get why she's so into it, either. And it definitely seems unfair that they were assigned the two youngest Sky Walkers, who therefore had the most elaborate backstory.

But Rey takes Rose's comment as a cue to jump to the introduction of the Mother in their tale. "The Mother was the vessel to return the Force to the galaxy, giving birth to the Knight of Sand. The Knight of Sand and Queen of Water were meant to balance the Force, but the Children misinterpreted the signs. Light feared the Dark so much they forbid passion. Hidden, Sand and Water's love was poisoned until the Knight was consumed by the Dark. Desperate, the Queen named their children after the Light with her dying breath, but the Children's fears had only grown and they separated brother and sister, leaving the Force unbalanced still."

Poe pokes Ben's shoulder. "Did you know Knight and Night are the same?"

Ben makes a face. "Obviously, that's the whole point of the story."

Rey's head whips around. "No, the whole point of the story is _they_ didn't know because no one tells the whole story. The Twin Stars turned Night back into Knight but then they hid his secrets from the world."

Finn shrugs. He'd partnered with Poe to report on the Twins and — "Well, it was embarrassing."

Rey flattens her lips in annoyance. "Are _none_ of you going to take this seriously?"

Finn opens his mouth to argue that he was being serious, but Poe interjects, wagging a finger at Rey. "Maybe _you_ 're taking it _too_ seriously — Sorry!" he yelps and jumps back when Rey threatens to bite the finger in her face. Ben smiles to himself.

Rose positions herself in between the boys and the table. "Look, we're headed to the Falcon, join when you're done?"

Rey nods, though she can't imagine it will be anytime soon, but Ben's smile turns into a scowl.

"Why do you always go _there_?"

"Because Leia gives me free pie," Poe answers over Rose's shoulder. "She loves me. I'm the son she never had."

"She has a son," Rey and Ben object in unison. They look at each other and blush; Poe's smirk only grows.

"Anyway!" Rose tries again. "Join when you're done?"

Rey nods again, and Ben a beat behind, and satisfied Rose grabs Poe's and Finn's hands and drags them away. Rey takes a breath and returns to her reading.

"Into this turmoil, a child was born to the Twin daughter and her paramour. The Force gifted this boy with beauty, intelligence, athleticism and charm, but he was also curious, impatient" — she shoots a pointed look in Ben's direction — "and willful. The Force was counting on it."

"Who translated this?"

Rey frowns. "Why?"

"'The Force was counting on it?'" Ben repeats. Seems flippant of the author. Or the Force, he supposes. But Rey has an answer to this, too.

"Because the Dark Prince was the one to seek Night and plunge the galaxy back into chaos and war."

"Well, he sounds like a terrible person, why should the Force want that?"

"Because it proved the war never really ended and all the cracks were still there. Light can't win by itself."

"But—"

She shakes her head, "Shh," and continues, "The Prince's family fractured, and with them the fabric of the Force itself. Communities burned, planets exploded, but all was not lost. There remained another Sky Walker, the Ray of Light."

"Where did she come from?"

"The Force created all the Sky Walkers."

"But—" he starts again, but at her look, acquiesces again. "Okay". Whatever.

"The Ray grew up alone, forgotten, surrounded by the remains of destruction. Although separated by a thousand stars, as the Dark Prince grew in power so too did the Ray of Light. She started to collect signs of hope. A magic sphere, a ship, a sword, and finally the Twin Stars, thought lost forever. Her quest caught the attention of the Prince and he plotted to steal her and take her power for his own. But she proved difficult to contain, and slipped away each time he found her."

Ben thinks, again, the translator was taking a few liberties with the language. But Rey’s eyes light up as she reads it and his annoyance and boredom fall away.

"The prince thought he should be angry at the Ray, for anger came easy to him, and she was undoing his sacrifice to the Dark. But instead he was confused, he didn't know what he was feeling. Moreover the girl wasn't afraid of him. She knew he was a monster but didn't run away. In fact she ran towards him."

As Rey pauses for a breath she meets Ben's eyes, and her cheeks grow warm at his intensity.

"Go on," he tells her softly.

"When next they met, battle raged all around, the armies of Light and Dark at war. The Ray was in the thick of it, wielding a glowing double bladed saber. The Prince's eyes were drawn immediately to her. All else fell away as he watched the Ray. The power of the Dark flowed through her but she was not lost. She was fearless. Body and blade twisting, fluttering, spinning, not like a dance, like a flame. He had been taught, as his forefathers had been taught, Dark and Light were always opposed. He had been taught, as his forefathers had been taught, to fear. But she did not. She was fearless."

Ben watches her lips form the words, leans closer as her voice slips softer. 

"The Prince walked through the battle with one purpose. As he reached the Ray, she fought off three of his soldiers, but lost control of her blade. It clattered beside her, just out of reach. As she lifted her hand to call the weapon to her, the Prince drew his own. The Ray's eyes grew wide. The Prince raised his hand — but not in attack. He pulled her up into his arms and—"

Rey's voice falters for the first time as Ben presses his lips to hers. Her eyes go wide, as wide as the Ray's, and she pulls him close to deepen the kiss. 

When they pull apart, Ben's eyes are shy but Rey's bright smile calms his nerves. "And they live happily ever after?" he guesses.

She shakes her head. "They live in balance with the Force."

"That's not happy?"

She kisses him again. "It's better."

Ben offers a tentative hand. "Shall we go to the Falcon?" Her expression is surprised as she takes his hand. She can't remember the last time Ben willingly spent free time with her friends or at his parents' restaurant. "I want to," he assures her.

"What about the report?"

"I'll finish it tonight." Rey's concern melts away as he draws her closer, brushes her forehead with his lips. "I get it now."


End file.
